Chapter 91: Don"t Let Go Part 1
Monkey made reservations at a private restaurant in the West end of the city. The restaurant is by the lakeside, and its entrance is hidden by trees. Looking at it on the outside, one would think that it"s somebody"s mansion.
Su Mian walks inside with her arm wrapped around Han Chen"s. She looks up at the lights on the ceiling and says in awe, "This place is beautiful."
Han Chen says with an indifferent expression on his face and both hands in his pockets, "I"ll bring you to places that are even more beautiful in the future, so don"t get dizzy now."
Su Mian smiles.
The server guides them to the private room. The decor of the room is even more elegant and eye-capturing decorated in ancient period style. Two men in casual clothes walk out from the room at the same time. They seem a year or two younger than Han Chen and their faces are carrying a smile.
"Yo! Young Master Han is here."
"I can finally see Big Brother Han today!"
These two men are part of the circle, but Han Chen wasn"t very close to them in the past. They must have been invited by Monkey to make the gathering lively. Han Chen smiles and greets them.
They also notice Su Mian and grin, "Big Brother, this must be your girlfriend, right?"
"Holy, Big Brother Han sure is a big brother. Your girlfriend is just too beautiful!"
Su Mian giggles cheerfully, "Not at all, not at all." Han Chen accepts the cigarette that they give him but doesn"t light it. Instead, he slips it behind his ear, glances at her and answers, "Mm, she has always been this beautiful."
The two men don"t catch the underlying meaning of his words. They lead them inside politely.
They walk past the screen, through the beaded curtain and see a pearwood round table big enough for ten people. It"s still empty; only sets of delicate utensils and a pot of tea is on it. And on top of the tatami by the window are two men sitting. Their faces show gentle smiles as they chat quietly. They immediately stand up hearing the noise and look this way.
A few of them greet each other. Han Chen keeps quiet. Su Mian is standing beside him while giving the two men a once-over.
One of them is wearing a black suit and the other is wearing a casual jacket; they"re exquisitely and delicately dressed. They"re around the same age as Han Chen. Their eyes fall onto Han Chen and seem to carry many emotions.
"Chen Er."
"Chen Er."
They both say.
And then their eyes fall onto Su Mian.
Su Mian doesn"t know how to describe their expressions. They look as if they"ve just seen a ghost; completely dumbstruck. Their faces change and are speechless.
Su Mian feels her heart drop.
Probably because their expressions are too strange, so the others are also a bit stunned. For a moment, the extravagant room becomes completely silent.
Su Mian stares at them, trying to read their expressions. And then somebody grabs her hand suddenly.
It"s Han Chen.
His face is expressionless, and his pupils are pitch black like a strong rock at the bottom of the ocean. He grabs her waist and walks to Da Wei and Monkey.
"Long time no see. These are my buddies, Da Wei and Monkey," his voice says calmly, "This is my girlfriend……Bai Jin Xi."
The room is still silent. Everybody can tell that Da Wei"s and Monkey"s expression isn"t right. Da Wei looks at Han Chen with a pale face while Monkey"s face and ears are red as he reluctantly nods towards Su Mian, "h.e.l.lo."
Someone comes over to ease the tension, "Let"s sit, Let"s sit. Sit down first. Big Brother Da Wei, should I open the bottle of burgundy that you"ve stored here?"
Da Wei answers calmly, "Open it."
Everybody starts to sit down at the table. Han Chen remains quiet. He holds onto Su Mian"s hand and guides her to sit down at the main guest"s table. Da Wei and Monkey are beside him.
Very quickly, two girls arrive. They"re Monkey"s and another man"s girls. It"s supposed to be livelier with more people. But from start to end, they eat their meals in a strange atmosphere. Besides the two girls and the two escorts who continuously try to find things to talk about as well as chat with Su Mian, the three main guests: Han Chen, Da Wei, and Monkey have not said a word. Their faces don"t look good either.
They finish their meals with much effort.
The mood is weird nonetheless, so one of the girls suggests, "Should we go hang out at the bar by the lakeside? I know a place that"s quite fun."
Before she finishes, Da Wei picks up his jacket and stands up, "I still have some matters to tend to, so I won"t be joining. Please take care of Chen Er for me." He pats Han Chen"s shoulder and then starts to put his jacket on.
No one says a word. Monkey shifts his eyes to the side to look at Da Wei and then Han Chen. His eyes sweep across Su Mian with a complicated gaze; as if he doesn"t know what to say.
"Bang."
It"s Han Chen putting down his celadon teacup on the table.
Everybody looks his way, and then exchange gazes with each other. Da Wei pauses midway putting on his jacket.
Su Mian turns her head and looks at Han Chen.
He has taken off his jacket and is wearing only a grey long sleeves shirt, making his face look even more fair white. He fiddles with the celadon teacup with one hand as his dark brown eyes stare at it, but his expressionless side profile seems as though there"s a layer of ice over it.
"Everybody will go to the bar. Whoever doesn"t go is not giving me, Han Chen, face."
Everybody is quiet. Da Wei is standing frozen. Monkey has his head down.
Su Mian squeezes his hand under the table.
His hand is a bit cold. His long and slightly calloused fingers grip her hand back.
_____
The bar is close to the restaurant, so the group walks over.
No one chats on the way.
Han Chen and Su Mian gradually walk at the end of the group with no one beside them.
She holds his arm and can"t find any words to say. It"s just that seeing him fierce like this makes her heart ache.
"Han Chen……" she looks up at him.
His eyes are calm and still, like the water of Shichahai. He holds her nape, lowers his head and pecks on her long hair, "Don"t worry, just leave it to me."
_____
The bar is by the lakeside. It has a very curvy ambulatory and every table is placed in its own private corner. Han Chen puts both hands into his pockets and walks toward the innermost area. He says to one of the girls at the same time, "My girlfriend hasn"t been to Shichahai before, could I trouble you to show her around?"
The girl agrees right away and grabs Su Mian"s hand with a smile. Su Mian"s eyes meet with Han Chen"s. She smiles and follows the girl out of the bar.
If the two escorts continue to stay, they would be out of place. They find a table in the outer area and advises Monkey, "Big Brother Monkey, we"ll sit here and drink, okay?"
Monkey doesn"t respond and neither does Da Wei. They see that Han Chen has already sat down at the table inside and is waiting for them. They look at each other and realize that they"re both incompetent. It"s been five years and they"ve finally come to the point of no turning back. Their faces are gloomy, but they walk towards Han Chen nonetheless.
They sit down and for a moment, none of them know what to say.
Da Wei pulls out a cigarette and lights it up. Monkey takes one and lifts his head to look at Han Chen, "Chen Er, you want one?"
Han Chen"s arm is resting on the armrest of the rattan chair. He answers crisply, "I don"t smoke. Su Mian doesn"t like me smoking now."
The two men"s expressions become stagnant.
The atmosphere becomes even quieter; only smoke rises in the dim lighting.
Han Chen calls a server over and orders two dozens of Corona. He pours it for them, and then for himself. Both Da Wei and Monkey are silent as he does all this.
And then he puts an empty bottle in the middle of the table and says:
"Monkey, Da Wei, where have I, Han Chen, done wrong to you? Why did you guys have to lie to me? In the past five years of not being able to find her, and all the hardship that she has gone through, who"s going to pay them back?"
Da Wei"s and Monkey"s expressions are even gloomier. Monkey is rather impulsive. He holds up his gla.s.s, downs the beer, and places the empty gla.s.s on the table with a thump.
"Is this the outcome that you want to see?" Han Chen says slowly, "So that I and the woman whom I cherish with my life will never see each other again till we die?"
His words are ruthless and cold. Monkey feels chills down his spine. He throws his cigarette b.u.t.t down on the ground and says to Han Chen with his face red, "Is she really Su Mian? Who was the woman that looked exactly like her and died then?!"